Grimsley, who was cut by the Yankees in November, eventually signed a minor-league contract with the bullpen-challenged Royals. While he harbors no ill feelings toward the Yankees, that doesn’t mean he didn’t shake his head when they cut him.

“I said, ‘Wow,'” Grimsley said of his reaction to the news that the Yankees were kissing off a pitcher who appeared in 118 games and worked 1711/3 innings in the last two seasons while being used in the taxing role of middle/long relief. “There were so many times where I looked back and said, ‘Damn.’ I don’t know if they were counting on [Jeff] Nelson coming back or if they knew [Ramiro] Mendoza and [Allen] Watson were going to be healthy, but I threw close to 180 innings for them the last two years.”

Grimsley was told by GM Brian Cashman, that because of surgery in November that removed bone chips from his right elbow, the team didn’t believe he was going to be ready in the early part of the season and they needed a roster spot. Organizational sources said at the time that the Yankees didn’t want to go to arbitration with Grimsley, who made $750,000 a year ago when he was 3-2 with a 5.04 ERA in 63 games.

“How much would I have made in arbitration, $1.5 million, tops?” Grimsley asked. “As for the surgery, it took 22 minutes and [the elbow] is fine.”

Now, with pitchers and catchers reporting to Legends Field today, the Yankees don’t have Nelson, Watson could be facing additional shoulder surgery and Mendoza, who is coming off shoulder surgery, will be monitored very carefully. And there is no clear-cut favorite to take the thankless role Grimsley filled.

Still, don’t expect Grimsley to hold a grudge, not after the Bombers helped him resurrect a stalled career and put two World Series rings on his fingers.

“You can’t be bitter,” said the 33-year-old Grimsley, who will compete to be the Royals’ set-up man for Roberto Hernandez. “I was with two World Champions, played with the group of guys I played with and got to meet the people I got to meet.”

While the Yankees didn’t want him, other teams did. So why the Royals?

“[The Royals] have one of the better offenses in baseball,” Grimsley said. “They blew a lot of saves last year, but at times they were a very good team. I hope to contribute and help. Probably not so much as in the middle, but late.”

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With Randy Hendricks tied up dealing with John Rocker’s contract, he didn’t have a chance to talk to the Yankees yesterday about a long-term deal for All-Star closer Mariano Rivera. However, both sides agree the possibility of an arbitration hearing being held next week is slim. Rivera is expected to report with the other pitchers to Legends Field today.